1. Good user interfaceHaving a well designed user interface will encourage the end-users to try out the portal and find their services there rather than picking up the phone. Footprints, Remedy, Remedyforce, TrackIT all made their self-service page simple to use and we never need to conduct any training for the end users.

2. Arrangement of the Service CatalogAlways put the most common requests on the top. Most of the time, a common service request in an organization takes up more than 50% of the SRs. Eg: Password reset

3. Keep the form simpleReduce the number of fields that a user need to fill up, using the least essential info to fulfill a service. Eg: 1 field with the "userID" is sufficient. Other details such as department, location, manager fields should be auto populated from LDAP.

4. Customer's involvement in the Service CatalogHold monthly meetings with the customers to improve the service catalog. Hear from them what services are lacking, which form is obsolete or there are better way to do things. Customers should have a say in the portal since they are the ones using it!

5. Display full info of the servicesInfo such as approval workflow, cost involved, turn around time and the workflow behind the service should be clearly laid out. This will help set the customer expectations and reduce much followup phone calls.